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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. band — a ring
  3. season — in sport
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. cell — a phone
  7. scale — size or range
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rash — a series
  10. band — a music group
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rash — hasty
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. snap — to click
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. season — of the year
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. scale — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com